Thank you, nicolle. We appreciate you. Im ari melber. We begin this broadcast with Breaking News out of the Georgia Rico Case against trump and his aides. Guilty. For the First Time Ever were reporting Tonight A Trump lawyer in the 2020 election case has now pled guilty. Sidney powell, who you may remember from presentations like that one she gave with giuliani after the election, a key coup lawyer. A key player, we should mention. Jack smiths case against trump. And most critically tonight, a rico defendant in that georgia case where she was booked for her mug shot. She was awaiting trial next week. The news tonight . She just pled guilty today, a bid to duck potentially harsher penalties in that criminal case. Unlike the federal case, today the cameras were rolling today in the georgia courtroom. You can see the defendant now convict sitting there this is where a onetime president ial lawyer became a convict. She admitted her guilt in the efforts to overturn trumps loss, and like any other defendant, she conceded it all Under Questioning by the judge. Are you pleading guilty today because you agree that there is a sufficient factual basis, that there are enough facts that support this plea of guilty . Ido. That is a huge breakthrough in the rico case against trump. Its drivingajor headlines today about this lawyer Powell Pleading and flipping on trump, which strengthens the rico prosecutors case at this pivotal time, a time where, i should note, news outlets are reporting on this as a major story everyone amidst everything happening in america and around the World Reports of escalation and the possible looming invasion in the hamasisrael war. Richard engel will report on. That hes lye from jerusalem as part of our Coverage Later this same hour, and theres still a speakerless house to deal with. Unclear whether jim jordan may get what he now requests, which is another chance for another vote that many of his republicans say he can ensure he loses. That is also going on. I say that as a general factual matter and a sign that amidst those first stories, this first guilty plea by a trump lawyer in a coup case is significant, and thats for a few reasons. Im going to walk through a few of them. The first is the most obvious. Sidney powell is flipping on trump. She says she will testify against him. I repeat, powell is flipping. A lawyer who worked with directly with trump in efforts that led to the failed coup and insurrection admits today for the first time in court that she broke the law. If you have to debate somebody about this and say, what did they do, and who said that . She said that. Shes a trump lawyer. She today there with giuliani. She made all these claims. She tried to steal your vote and according to who . Today i can tell you, according to her. She admits that under oath. She says shell truthfully testify against trump. Now well show you what it looks like and sounds like. Powell who spent her years as an attorney in courtrooms left one today as a convict. She struck a plea deal. Said under oath she will temperature, quote, against all defendants, which includes the most infamous defendant donald trump. Were going to show you now so you can see for yourself that moment as it occurred in the courtroom. The georgia courtroom provides one sort of the broad, wideview shot, so we have highlighted the exact Table Position where you can see powell, and you will see and hear her providing her plea and discussing testimony. You understand the state is asking that truthfully testify at all hearings and proceedings and trials involving the codefendants in this manner and that you have no communication with codefendants or media, witnesses until this case has been completely closed against all defendants . I do. I do. Those are probably some of the scariest words defendant trump heard in this whole long saga of a process. Why . Defendant trump know what is he told her to do, he knows what she witnessed and observed. He knows prosecutors used evidence of powell, who is now saying shell tell all truthfully, plotting with President Trump and the nowconvicted schemes, including tampering with Voting Machines. Trump can also see dominos are starting to fall. Powell is the second rico defendant to plead guilty, and the other didnt have contact with trump. Thats not a person who could flip on him. He doesnt have personal knowledge of what trump might have said behind the scenes. Powell is the first to vow to testify about what trump did, so that scares trump. Another reason this is important tonight, the reason i showed you its make all those headlines, it also shows the narrowing path for some of rico codefendants. Powell is the first person to spend time with trump to flip, and the prosecutors are rewarding that. Again, just going through the facts, let me show you how. Powell got a deal because she pled. And so she has pled to breaking a single law today, interfering with election duties across six counts. Shell get probation and a fine. Im going the show what you she actually faced. Because she was indicted on rico and larger crimes. Today we she can you she cops to one misdemeanor, which is bad. We see that in red. It hurts her position in other pending cases we have more on that later. But she pleads guilty only to Election Interference and gets out of this with no jail time or any felony conviction. Now, i want to show you, leaving this on the screen, what she faced. It was rico, multiple counts of fraud, crime, defrauding georgia elections. This is a good deal for her by any estimation. Nick akerman and maya wiley are here. Were going to get into it. I also want to tell you from the other side of the table what trumps lawyers are saying about this today. Quote, assuming truthful testimony in the case, referring obliquely to powell, quote, it will be favorable to the overall strategy says georgias Defense Lawyer. So powell was facing more than one misdmern. That was going to be at next weeks trial. She pleads out. Mr. Cheseboro faces if powells testimony works again him let me be clear, he is presumed innocent, and hell get to make his defense in whatever way he chooses, but if this testimony she provides along with the other convict hall, works against cheseboro and he get what is she didnt, jail time, thats going to focus the minds of other defendants. You can bet people like mark meadows are watching this all very closely tonight. If several people start flipping, you dont want to be the last one. That brings me to another point i want to share with you as we kind of take this in. Theres a lot of talk about trumps aides, like powell, willing unhinged, quote on quote, or whether donald trump is confused or delusional or really knows hes lying. Let me point Something Else out. Notice how ms. Powell after all her claims and alleged defamation struck a pretty rational selfinterested deal and when her libertys on the line she cooperated, tried to sound straightforward, everyone cordial if you want to call it that, as she took on the mantel as the first trump aide to flip. Do you swear or affirm the testimony usual give in this matter currently before the court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and Nothing But The Truth . I do. Can you please state your true and correct legal name . Sidney katherine powell. Are you the Sidney Katherine Powell named in accusation . I am. And are you currently taking any medication or under the influence of any drugs or alcohol at this time . No, im not. How old are you, maam . Oh, gosh. 68 despite my astonishingly youthful countenance. What is the highest level of education you have completed . I have a juris doctorate degree. Are you able to read, write, and understand the legal language . Yes. Yes, yes, yes, the whole truth and Nothing But The Truth, and the reference to the Juris Dock Rat Degree that is in doubt tonight. Nothing but the truth. That is whats required of you in a court of law. Nothing but the truth is ultimately required if you say you will be cooperating. Nothing but the truth about everything you did and everything your client did with some possible exceptions regarding legally acknowledged privilege but not if it were a crime. So Nothing But The Truth. Who does the truth scare tonight . And why is Sidney Powell deciding at this late date, days out from for trial, and does that mean more people will . Are we witnessing a breakthrough in one of the most significant racketeering cases thats a now running for president . We take those questions to nick akerman, a prosecutor in watergate and sdny. Highly experienced on these complex cases, maya wiley, A Civil Rights expert among other things. Welcome to both of you. Try to walked through it so people could look and see how it felt in court today. Is this a big Legal Development . What does it say about the d. A. s rico case . Its a very big Legal Development, ari, as you know, and lets name the reasons why. One, it is because every prosecution, every prosecutor, we shall the conspiracy charges, is bringing them hoping that someone will say, id rather drop the dime than do the time, and thats exactly what Sidney Powell says. It tells us she looked at the case and said, im going down. Rather than go down hard, im going to go down soft and take some people with me, and the second is that the District Attorney would not have made the deal if the District Attorney did not see Sidney Powells testimony that she could offer as helpful to her, and we should presume in her rico charge case. Because everyone though she did not plead on the racketeering charges, what she pled on, as you point out in your opening, are misdemeanors related to intentionally thats the one word i wish hi i had seen on that board you shared intentionally interfering with the election, intentionally, in coffee county, georgia. But that does lead to the rico case, theres intentional interference in order to deliver to donald trump a victory. And she is a person who was and ill switch to hamilton now, was in a room where it happened, presumably, On December 18th inside the white house with rudy giuliani, also a cocon someone charged with conspiracy as well as in georgia. Presumably she made a wise choice for herself and we have to think seriously about whether other defendants want to get in early or fall hard later. You laid it out very clearly. Room where it happened indeed, which is why trump will know what she has on him, and he keeps track of that kind of stuff. Nick has always been a little more les misthan hamilton. I go both. Broadway, its not far from with where were sitting. I want to bring you in, nick. You have sat on these deals as well as complex political cases. Watergate was, like georgia, a case about, among other things, cheating in politics and abuse of government power to potentially cheat in elections. Absolutely. Cheseboro is still up as the trump lawyer on trial next week. I want to show you, nick, as a prelude to your breakdown, which weve asked you to walk us through, he was offered a deal, sources sa quote, the deal would have allowed him to Avoi Prison Time Pleading Guiltyo a Felony Racketeering a little more serious. He would have had to agree to testify, as she did today, including trump, and got three years probation and a 10,000 fine. Thats a pretty good deal compared to what hes facing. As of tonight, i can say he hasnt gone to court and taken it, hasnt publicly affirmed. The sourcing is so far he says no. Tonights news could change that. But thats what he rejected. Let me show again the same breakdown we had up for you to walk us through. Put this up. Walk us through what she faced and what she did. What she did is she basically avoided having to be convict on a rico count that carries with it 20 years in prison, a minimum of a fiveyear sentence. She also got away without having to deal with other felony counts, which would have definitely been jail time as well. The left, in your view, you get convicted on that can you go to jail no matter the age, firsttime offender. Absolutely. She was in deep trouble here. There was no way she could sit there and take the risk that she could be going down. The problem there are documents that incriminate her, there are other witness who is incriminate her. The most recent person who pled guilty know what is her role is. The people from the there is a Forensic Firm she hired to go in and take the data from the stolen elections in georgia. The deal gets better or worse as time goes on for the others . Much worse. As i used to say to defendants, the train is leaving the station, and if you dont get on now, it gets a lot worse for you. Lets take that point to the other big codefendant here. Our panel stays, but the breakdown this georgia indictment mentions the December 18th meeting the white house meeting with giuliani and others where there was a discussion about seizing Voting Equipment and appointing powell, now a convict, having pled guilty to a misdemeanor today, as a special counsel. Powell also testifying to the january 6th committee about that very meeting. Duh believe that it was going to work . Did you believe you were going to get to see the president with no appointment . I had no idea. You did get to see the president without an appointment. We did. How much time did you have alone with the president you had other people with you, but with his aides before the crowd came running . Probably no more than 10 or 15 minutes. I bet Pat Cipollone set a new land speed record. Also youre reminded she has this style, this certain style where she talks and fits in what she considers her witticisms. That was her providing a type of testimony. This is different. Its much more grave for the other codefendants. Walk us through as a prosecutor how you see her now, having we showed, she said on her oath today, ill testify truthfully about everyone. How does that specifically affect rico defendant trump . It affects him big time. She had direct meetings with him. She was there On December 18th, the 2020. She had conversations with him. She had conversations with michael flynn, who was also present. The whole point of this was they wanted to seize government all of the Voting Machines in the battleground states, and when they finally were told they couldnt do it, they went out and did it the oldfashioned way, she stole it. Let me slow you down. Youre talk about the way a prosecutor makes the story make sense. One random thing over here, you should try it. Life goes on. There is crime, sadly, in many places. Youre saying this wasnt just coffee county. Youre saying theres a lun to the coup plots hatched in the white house, including trying to abuse military power, which they failed at, to what they did, and youre saying you would be asking her on the stand, how does this relate to trumps goal . Because trump was meeting with people, trying to, what, abuse power to steal . To overturn the election. Thats what she was doing. She was doing that with rudy giuliani. They were lying about the election being stolen. She appeared with him at various press conferences. She knows about general flynn and what he was up to. They spent time of the some farm in South Carolina working on this stuff. She may know about lots of other people, and in fact, if i were her attorney id be making a call to jack smith and trying to work out a deal for the case in the district of columbia. Theres a lot going on. Shes listed as an Unindicted Coconspiriter there. Unindicted to conspirator three. Youre going get the last word in this segment. You know what gets the last word . Vintage powell. Not todays Cooperative Powell whos talking the truth. But ill say the legally allegedly defamatory and illegally lying 2020 powell on the Voting Machines. Take a look. Other software the source code that does the alterations is embedded, we have been tolding in the source code all across the country and all the Voting Machines. Theres no doubt it has been used to alter elections in other countries. We know specifically that venezuela exported it for that purpose to argentina and other Latin American companies. Now, for viewers there actually is doubt, its false the Conspiracy Theory that the venezuelan data came in, as we say around here, ya da, ya da, ya da. I give you the last word on the difference and in fairness, the argument the Defense Lawyer might make to a jury, which is not a totally wild one, which is she says her piece now, has her history, and the defense goes, shes our authority now . Well, a Defense Lawyer says, shes our authority now, but all of that lying she was doing was for the very purpose she has been charged with in georgia, which is to help donald trump steal an election. So a Defense Attorney can argue that, but you certainly have lots of reasons why, and theres always the case whenever you have someone flip in a conspiracy case, thats what the defense will use. But in this case, what benefit to her . Shes in fact i mean, its staying out of prison because shes going to be convicted, and to nicks point, because theres evidence. But the really important point here is in that very case when shes talking about the Voting Machi